By Desire Emmanuel
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Sunday, April 5, disclosed that it had intervened in the matter regarding the detention of three Nigerians at an airport in South Africa over issues that have to do with their visas and social media posts.
The agency added that following its intervention, the three citizens were on Sunday night allowed to leave the Johannesburg Airport where the incident occurred and they are expected to arrive Nigeria on Monday morning.
One of the three men, whose X handle is @YemiFirstson, who reported their plight in a post on his handle, said he and two other citizens were detained at the airport as they were singled out of the crowd for ‘doing nothing’ despite the fact that their documents were in order.
He added that the phone of one of them was seized and he was not allowed to reach out to anyone.
He also said the officials at the airport attempted to take his own phone but he refused and following his refusal, they left him alone.
“They are saying that they will detain us for no reason until God knows when. We are telling them that we want to book another flight back home immediately and they are refusing that,” he said.
However, apparently following his post, NIDCOM reached out to the officials at the High Commission of Nigeria in South Africa and found out circumstances that led to their detention at the airport.
The agency said it found out that apart from visa issues that they had, one of them had previously posted insulting remarks about the South African government online and the country had already placed him on their watchlist.
The agency said when he was confronted at the port of entry, he was unable to defend or substantiate those statements, which further aggravated the situation.
NIDCOM wrote: “The core issue in many such cases stems from the over-reliance on unregulated visa agents. These agents often collect applicants’ passport data pages and complete sections of the visa application particularly on purpose of visit, itinerary, accommodation, and ties to Nigeria without the full knowledge or approval of the travellers.
“Consequently, many applicants are unable to defend the information provided when questioned during immigration interviews, resulting in entry refusal.
“In this particular case, one of the individuals had previously posted insulting remarks about the South African government online. This had already placed him on their watchlist.
“When confronted at the port of entry, he was unable to defend or substantiate those statements, which further aggravated the situation.”
NIDCOM therefore said It thanked the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa for its prompt intervention, promising to continue to follow up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian high commission in South Africa on such types of cases.
